Chapter 10
The Lane residence exuded a peaceful silence; the only noises emitted came from the house as it eased into its foundations. Jane was thankful that Trent had gotten the band their first gig in over a month. She sat on her unmade bed and relished in the calm solitude, as she eyed the battered shoebox on the nightstand beside her. Her stomach still twisted with unease as to how she had found it; the Daria imposter had known where to look, she had known its exact location. The box had stayed where she had rested it two weeks prior after she had returned from Daria's wake; a sense of foreboding shook her to the core, each and every time she had examined it. A persistent rattle from the front door brought her back to reality and she ventured downstairs to welcome the intruder.
The paint chipped, heavy wooden entry door, creaked against its bearings as Jane unlatched and pulled it open to reveal her visitor. Jane smirked, stuck her head out and scanned the street in a comical manor, before she addressed the slim redhead on her doorstep.
"Get lost on your way to the mall again, Princess Grace?" Jane chided.
"Oh Jane, you're hilarious, you know that?" Quinn shot back.
"You're not here to check up on me too, are you?" Jane asked suspiciously, the feud between Tom and her from the previous night, was still raw.
"Tom? Yeah he called, mentioned that you were a little mad." Quinn replied, as she buckled under the weight of a large bag she carried.
"He told you?"
"Yeah, he called me this morning. Said he was worried about you."
"Yeah, right, he just wanted a clear conscience, 'cause he skipped out on the funeral." Jane scoffed and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Jane, he's hurting as well. He lost a friend too, you weren't the only one."
"She was my best friend, Quinn." Jane shot, her temper flared.
"And she was my sister, Jane." Quinn replied in an equal tone.
"Cousin don't you mean?" Jane spat with distain.
"You know what Jane? Fuck you. I came here to see how you were, thought you may want to talk to someone; or god forbid that I wanted to talk with the girl Daria held in such high regard. I also brought you some of Daria's stuff. Since my dad has become a permanent fixture in the living room and my mom is putting in nineteen-hour days at the office, I have been given the responsibility to go through and organize Daria's stuff. I thought you might like them." Quinn dumped the bag on the step, turned and walked down the path her anger and frustration evident.
"Quinn, wait." Jane called out.
Jane's beckons went unheeded as Quinn continued down the path.
Jane picked up the heavy duffle bag and dragged it up to her room. She set it down with a thud and rummaged through the bag until she came to Daria's diary. She held it up and examined the loose worn spine of the leather bound book; a sad smile passed her lips, as she returned to her bed and began to read through the many musings of Daria's mind.
***
Jane awoke with a start to a reverberating shudder, followed by the heavy footsteps as someone scaled the stairs. She opened her bleary eyes and squinted, as a bright stream of light passed across the room through the open curtains and came to rest across her face. She sat up on her bed and wiped the remnants of sleep from her eyes, as her bedroom door swung open.
"Hey Janey, you wouldn't have two hundred bucks would you?" Trent asked as he leaned against the door, he rubbed his neck awkwardly.
"What happened this time?" She asked her words marred by a yawn.
"Max and Nick. Long story short; we're down an amp, need the cash to get it fixed, but we're all tapped out."
"Yeah I got a bit of cash, but I want it back."
"Cool, thanks Janey. Hey, what's in the bag?" He questioned as he passed through the room and sat beside her on the bed.
"Daria's things. Books, files, plans of world domination and mass destruction. You know..." Jane allowed a small smirk to grace her lips, as she looked up at Trent.
Trent smiled and his eyes drifted past Jane, they fixed on her nightstand. "Is that the shoebox you found, in Daria's room the other day; the one full of cash?"
"Yeah."
"How did you find it? Did she tell you it was there?"
"Nope... You wouldn't believe me if I told you..." She shook her head slightly.
"Try me."
"The day of the wake, I was late and when I got to Daria's house, a girl was standing on her front lawn; she was dressed exactly like Daria; glasses and all. That's why I was yelling, I thought at the time she was pulling a joke on Daria's family."
"Pretty tasteless joke, I think I remember seeing a girl; don't remember her though."
"It was weird, she reacted like she wasn't expecting to be seen, the only thing she said to me was that, 'the Montana Cabin fund is under the bed, it's yours'. Sure enough it was there. Daria never told anyone where it was, as far as I know, I mean it's not like she had a great deal of confidants in her life. I don't understand how that girl would know..."
"Is that why you're reading through her diaries? Trying to find your answer?"
"Mmm, so far the search is proving to be fruitless." She sighed and set the book down on the floor.
"You wanna come with me to the mall get the amp looked at? I'll spring for your breakfast."
Jane glanced at her clock, the red screen flashed one p.m. "You mean I'll spring for your lunch?" She shot back as she stood and grabbed the shoebox.
Trent smiled and shrugged, leading the way to the car.
***
Daria had been rudely awoken by the incessant ringing of her cell phone. She cracked an eye and glared at the phone with contempt; she growled slightly as she shot an arm out, and brought the contraption to her ear.
"Mrmphf."
"Daria?"
"Anghth."
"Daria get up."
"What." She answered annoyed.
"Daria, it's Georgia, there's been a change of plans. I need you to meet me at Lawndale Mall, near the top escalator at three."
Daria mumbled an incoherent response and hung up the phone. Her first day off since she had become a reaper was no more; her plans to enjoy the serenity of her darken bedroom were now foiled. She glanced at her watch; she had a little more than an hour and a half to dress and ready herself for the afternoon's festivities.
***
Tad and Tricia Gupty stood side by side on the upmost level of the Lawndale Mall with mirroring expressions of glee, as they ate their plain vanilla, fat free, low calorie, frozen soy yogurt. The cause for their excitement rested with the Wilderness Society's booth erected at the top of the escalators. It was being run by an assortment of large furry, costumed animals that were threatened with extinction.
"Finally, the youth of today have realized their mass consumerism has contributed to the greenhouse effect and its connection to the depletion of many of the world's animal population." Tad looked at his sister and back to the charity booth in front of them.
"I just hope those costumes are made from all natural fibers and materials." Tricia replied. "Let's ask Daddy if we can aid the conservation of our earth, by making a donation." she exclaimed as she grabbed Tad's hand with enthused force.
The two children turned and crashed into their father's legs, causing them to spill onto the floor; their frozen yogurt sent asunder.
"Whoa there, Nelly! Oh, we should get a janitor to clean that up; we wouldn't want to cause an accident now would we?" Lester Gupty said to his two children as he helped them to their feet.
"But Daddy, we want to make a contribution to the wilderness conservation campaign." Tricia whined.
"Sure thing honey, but after we alert someone about this mess." Lester smiled at his eldest, he took a child's hand in each of his, and led them away.
***
The three suited animals congregated around the booth's counter, each removed their oversized heads that completed their costumes. Three sweat drenched teenaged male faces emerged.
"Damn it's hot, I could kill Phil at the moment; easy way to make a quick buck, he says. Lots of hotties to scope out; they love animals, he assures," The panda moaned as he mopped his forehead with the back of his paw.
"I'll say. I only took this job to get out of Camp Grizzly this year; at least I could swim there." The rhino agreed and squirted a stream of water into his mouth from a drink bottle.
The third, a gorilla, shifted his weight uncomfortably and scanned the crowd. "Where is he anyway? He's over an hour late. I gotta take a whizz and there has to be three of us here at all times."
The panda raised an arm and pointed toward the escalator. "Here he comes."
"About time." the gorilla sighed, and he hurried off into the crowd.
A fourth, plain clothed male, approached the booth; he apologized profusely for his tardiness. He proceeded to the back of the booth behind a screen, the large bulky duffle bag he had held over his shoulder was tossed with a thud. He stepped out moments later clad in a penguin costume and held a collection bucket in his hand.